Journey to Skyloft
by StormRaider3
Summary: "How did Hermes know my pants size?"- Silly Link, the gods know all when it comes to their children! Okay maybe not, but definitely pants size. Link the demigod, sired by Apollo, must find his way to the demigod training camp, Camp Skyloft, with the few skills he got along the way. Now, if only Link knew how to use a sword...
1. Chapter 1

**Sup people. Ever wonder what it'd be like if Link was a demigod? No? Okay, just me, got it *coughs uncomfortably* This story is heavily based off of Percy Jackson, but I did tweak it a bit. And before you start, no, Link won't be Zeus's son. I've considered it a lot, with the Loftwing stuff and the Skyward Sword, but in the end, decided on something else. And yeah, Zelda will eventually appear in here. Eventually.**

**Well, I obviously don't own Legend of Zelda or the Percy Jackson series, or else I wouldn't be on fan fiction. **

A hooded figure went up the dimly lit mountain, going at a leisurely pace. The sky was dark, clearly night time, and the only light came from the torches placed around the mountain's trail. Upon arrival at the mountain's top, he entered the elaborate temple built there and approached a blonde, muscular man in his late twenties. The man was shooting arrows at the target's bulls eye effortlessly, almost as if he was bored. The fire on the lamps around him flickered whenever he let the arrow fly, dimming the room every ten seconds.

"Lord Apollo, it's time to claim your son." The hooded figure announced to the young man. The god kept shooting arrows, ignoring the other's presence. The hooded man coughed irritably to get the man's attention.

"Already?" The god asked, still shooting the seemingly endless amount of arrows in his quiver.

"Anymore time left alone and the boy would be swamped with monsters." The figure answered in his gravelly voice. Apollo stopped shooting, setting down his weapon.

"Wouldn't it be better to leave him? Then the prophecy may never come true."

"The prophecy will still happen, it's just that he will not be around to save us if we leave him." The other snapped.

"I'll get to it then. What's the boy's name again?"

"Link, my lord."

Far off at a boarding school for troubled youth, it was morning, and the school year was just starting. A blonde teen was sprawled on his bed, completely tangled in his sheets, fast asleep. A stampede of boys ran past his dorm room, causing enough noise to shake his room.

"Hey Link, wake up or you'll be late again!" Keet pounded on his door. Link opened his eyes slightly, adjusting to the sudden light before shooting straight up in his bed and detangling himself from his bed frantically. 'I can't be late this year, it won't be like last year!' the boy thought as he threw on some clothes and ran out of his dorm, not even bothering to comb his hair.

Now here was the thing; Link wasn't a troubled boy at all. He was an average student, and hadn't been in trouble once…not counting his endless number of lateness. The only reason he was there was because he was an orphan. No relatives to speak of either, so the government simply dumped him at this boarding school. And unlike most kids, Link didn't become a troublemaker to fit in. He stayed as he was, and at first glance you would think he was his parent's pride, had many friends, and got all the girls.

He probably would…if he wasn't at an all boys school. He might've been his parents pride, if he had any he knew of. He would've had friends…if half of the school wasn't filled with absolute jerks and idiots. So far, Link had only one person he could loosely call a friend, and they barely even talked. Link wasn't fond of his own voice…in fact, the sound disturbs him, and forget about speeches.

Link raced into the classroom building and sprinted down the hallway. He halted outside his class and peered in. The teacher's back was to the class, writing something on the board. 'I have no idea when he'll turn around though.' Link frowned, and then backed up. 'Maybe if I roll in, I'll be too fast for him to notice' he thought as he threw himself in. Instead of sneaking in however, he knocked his desk over and called all the attention to him.

"Late again, Link." The teacher didn't even bother to turn around; he already knew it was Link. Link grimaced and put his desk upright as quietly as possible.

"Morning sleepy head." Keet smiled as Link sat down next to him. The blonde sent an awkward smile back at him, and Keet, well used to Link never replying to him, turned back to the board and continued to not take notes.

"String bean's late again, STRING BEANS LATE AGAIN!" Groose sang, referring to Link's habit of wearing green. Link rolled his eyes and continued to take notes. "What's wrong leaf head? Cat got your tongue?" Link's eyes narrowed. He sat up before looking Groose dead in the eye.

"Nice hair." Link flicked his eyebrows toward Groose's ridiculously styled red hair.

"What'd you say about my hair?" Groose glared at Link.

"Quiet down the both of you." The teacher snapped. The bell rang, and everyone got up and left for gym. "Link, stay after class." The teacher said as the teen packed up. 'What'd I do now?' Link looked up worriedly at the teacher. "You aren't in trouble, I just needed to talk to you."

Despite the teacher's words, Groose and his cronies, Cawlin and Strich, jeered at Link as they left. The teacher stared at them with the most dead look he could muster before sighing and muttering under his breath.

"This lateness has to stop Link. I could kick you out of here, we can't start with these latenesses again this year. I don't want to have to send you back to the orphanage, believe me, you're the only decent student, but damn, _get here on time!_" The teacher slammed his fist on the table, startling Link. He composed himself, shaking his head slowly. "That's all, go to your next class."

Link nodded and sprinted out of the class. 'Crap, I'm going to be late for the _next _class now. Couldn't he have just written me a note? No, he was being considerate by talking to me face to face…still, now I have to walk over to the gym _alone._ Please no monsters. Actually, I don't mind the monsters…I just hope _he's _not here…' Link thought as he ran across the lawn to the gymnasium.

Yes, Link was afraid of monsters. These were not the monsters you used to check under your bed for though. These were monsters Link faced ever since entering sixth grade, very much real. Enough to make him wish he still believed the ones that hid in his closet were the only ones he had to worry about. And these monsters only came out when he was alone

Link froze as he saw movement from his peripheral vision, and turned to see a small, goblin like creature smiling sinisterly at him from the side of the lawn. 'At least it's just him, all he ever does is try to scare, steal, and annoy me.' Link thought as he continued to run toward the gym. 'Hopefully he'll leave me alone.'

Seeing that the locker room was completely empty, Link burst into a wide grin. 'No awkward nudity!' he thought happily. Changing quickly into his gym clothes, he quickly ran and sat on his gym's floor spot.

"Alright boys!" The coach barked as he paced the floor, red ball in hand. "What time is it?"

"Adventure time!" The kids laughed. The coach face palmed.

"No, argh. Try again, what time is it?"

"It's vampire fighting slaying time!" One kid called out. The coach's eyes narrowed.

"Perhaps I should give you a hint…" The coach launched the ball at the boy's face. Rebounding off the boy's face, the ball left a large red mark on his face.

"Dodge ball." The boy groaned before falling backwards.

"Exactly!" The coach smiled sadistically. "Set up into teams!"

Link heaved himself off the floor and walked over next to Keet, figuring it'd be less awkward to stand next to a person you're kind of friends with. He smiled as he got into position; dodge ball was his favorite sport here. It was basic motion skills, dodge and hit. That's where learning how to roll actually came in handy.

"Hey Link, mind if I use you as a shield?" Keet laughed. Link grinned back and nodded jokingly before turning back to the net. As soon as the whistle sounded, both teams launched the ball at their opponents. Cawlin, Strich, and Groose tried extra hard to hit Link, focusing all their power on him. Despite the fact that he was targeted, Link continued to dodge everything thrown at him. Running across the gym, He stumbled as something tugged at his leg and forced him down. As Link face planted on the floor, two balls immediately bounced off his head. Glancing back irritably to see who tripped him, he turned to face the dwarf like creature from before.

Looking around in disbelief, Link still couldn't believe that no one else could see the thing standing over him, despite the fact he already knew that he was the only one who could see them. Jumping when he heard a loud screech, he looked over and saw Groose cowering in fear, staring straight at the monster. 'He could see it too?' Link wondered as he felt something slipping out of his pocket. The monster jumped off him and ran out of the gym, cackling like a maniac and waving Link's wallet around in the air.

Link's eyes widened, and he got up and sprinted off toward the monster, shouting his apology to the coach. Chasing the monster for five blocks, the monster halted at an open sewage entrance. It giggled as it waved Link's wallet over the opening, taunting him, then dropped it in and left laughing. Link groaned and started down the sewer's ladder.

'Well this is wonderful.' Link thought as he slumped through the murky waters, looking for his wallet. Spotting it floating around nearby, he raced toward it eagerly and raised it triumphantly. 'Why is the entrance closed?' Link frowned as he approached the exit. Hearing muffled laughter from above, Link fumed and turned to go look for another open sewer exit. 'The little creep sealed me off!'

Brightening up at the small bit of light up ahead, Link ran faster toward the new exit, stopping as a glint of light in the water caught his eye. It was a sword embedded into the gunk in the water, still shiny despite its resting place. Link frowned as he spotted strange characters on the sword's blade, and turned his head to try to read them. At first, it looked like a completely different language, but then after a while it morphed into readable words.

"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." The sword read. Link gave it a disturbed look before turning away from it. 'I don't like swords that much; I prefer a bow and arrow. Well…it did say to take it though. No, I should leave it here.' His eyes widened as he saw the words scramble slightly and gave a new message.

"It's a present from Lord Zeus. I think you should take it." A voice resonated in the tunnel. Link grabbed the sword and held it offensively, as if someone was about to attack him. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." A young man stepped out from the shadows and gave Link a friendly smile. The man had a strange sort of staff in his hand, and wore a mail man's bag. "You do know your mythology, don't you?" the man raised his eyebrows as Link gave him a confused look.

"You know, Zeus, thunder guy?" The mail man asked worriedly. He sighed in relief as Link nodded. "Good, it would've been awkward if you didn't know. Anyway, I'm here to assist you on your quest man. I'm Hermes." The man grinned.

"What quest?" Link asked in a low voice.

"You have to go to Skyloft. It's the training camp for people like you. You know, demi gods. All you have to do is find the three flames; one for each of the Big Three: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Once you get all three, you can come. I left a package in your dorm to help you out, because I doubt the clothes you have will be up to the task of intense adventuring."

"Whose son am I?" Link asked curiously. Hermes shrugged and turned to walk out.

"He'll claim you later, I can't tell you. It'll ruin the surprise!" He called over his shoulder as he disappeared. Link frowned and looked down at the sword. 'What'd they give me the sword for? Is it to kill the monsters? I don't even know _how_ to use a sword' he thought as he climbed out of the sewage path.

'What the heck am I supposed to tell the coach when I get back? That I had to go after the little green man that stole my sword? You know what, I'll figure that out when I get there.' He thought as he walked back toward campus. 'Or maybe I should just skip and stay in my dorm. Yeah, Hermes did say he delivered something for me anyway, better go to my dorm and ditch these clothes.' Link grimaced as he looked down at his sneakers and grey gym pants.


	2. Chapter 2

'How did Hermes know my pants size' Link wondered as he looked at himself in the mirror, now wearing all the equipment given to him by Hermes. Apparently, according to the note attached to the box, all demigods at the camp wore some sort of version of this uniform, but it was often changed even further by the demigods themselves; especially the Aphrodite demigods. Looking in the mirror, Link didn't see a reason to change the clothes. He actually liked how it looked; it was pretty similar to how he normally dressed. He now wore brown leather boots, thick tan pants, chainmail under a green shirt, hand gloves, and a green hat. Even better, the "Skyward Sword" Zeus had given him would turn into an earring whenever he didn't need it by just spinning it three times. The sword would slowly turn into a silver earring, replacing the old plastic earring Link previously wore. Taking it off would immediately make it revert to its sword form.

'All this is cool, but when exactly am I going to get claimed?' Link frowned, sitting down on his bed. Night was already falling, and Link still didn't receive one sign of who sired him. He sighed and laid back on his bed, bored out of his mind waiting for the sign. An intense pain in his left hand made him sit up in his bed and clutch his arm. Wincing, Link stared at his arm in horror as a bow and arrow was burned into his fore arm by an unknown source. At the same time, the outline of three triangles appeared on his hand glove, glowing a soft blue. The bow and arrow burned into him cooled quickly, fading to a white color that was just barely noticeable against his skin.

Link examined the new marks curiously, actually liking how it looked when the moon light reflected off of it. It made it look like it was glowing. 'Well that's that then. So I'm Artemis's son?' Link winced as his marks burned almost as bad as before for a brief second. 'Why the random pain? Oh…Apollo, not Artemis. I don't remember what he controlled, other than being a great archer. I only remember Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, to be honest. Well…Google is my friend' Link thought as he hopped off his bed and left his dorm. He slid down the stair's handrail until he reached ground level, then sprinted toward the 24 hour library. 'I _really _hope _he's _not here.'

Link ran even faster at this thought, running like he never did before. 'I don't feel safe out here anymore. What if he finds me easier now that I'm a demigod? The goblin guy I don't really care about, he's just a nuisance by now.' Arriving at the library, he sat in one of the open computers and searched for what Apollo did.

'God of the Sun, music, medicine, archery, and poetry. Well he seems well accomplished. If I'm his son, does that mean I'm an awesome musical doctor who's a great shot and will never get a sun burn? Never mind that, I wonder if I could I find out what the heck that short green guy is' Link thought as he typed in all the attributes the thing had. The first result came up from Wikipedia.

"The _kobalos_ (pl. _kobaloi_) was a sprite from Greek mythology, a mischievous creature fond of tricking and frightening mortals. Greek myths depict the _kobaloi_ as "impudent, thieving, droll, idle, mischievous, gnome-dwarfs", and as "funny, little triksy elves" of a phallic nature."

'It certainly sounds like what I've had to put up with' Link grumbled internally. He sat in silence, thinking of what else he could search that would be of value to him. 'Well…I could find out what _he _is. Maybe knowing what he is would make him less scary.'

No results relatable to mythology came up; only criminal records and scary bed time stories. Link groaned and sunk back into his seat. After a few moments, he got up, feeling like someone was watching him. It unnerved Link, despite the fact that he knew it was just because he was thinking about _him. _He ran out of the library and raced back to his dorm room and locked the door. Still not feeling safe, he clutched the sword's hilt in an attempt to feel more secure. It didn't work at all. Someone was still watching him.

'Maybe it's just Apollo watching me and he's waiting for me to start the quest' Link hoped. 'Where would the flames be…well, for Hades, I guess it'd be in a cemetery. Come to think of it, isn't there an abandoned one about ten blocks down? That'd be a good place to start.' Link got up, determined. 'Damn, this is my last time here. If I come back, they'll just put me in detention for not coming to class. All my stuff will be thrown out after a while too…' Link thought as he patted his old bed. 'That's a weird thought. No more annoying Groose, Strich, or Cawlin. No more sitting next to Keet first thing in the morning. No more sneaking _in _first thing in the morning!'

'When I start this quest…everything will be different. But, it's for the better, hopefully'. Link nodded to himself as he gripped the sword tighter. He got up and left the room without so much as a second glance, and left the dorms for what was most likely the last time. As soon as he stepped outside, he face planted into the grass. The kobalos that tripped him laughed merrily and ran off. Grumbling under his breath, link picked himself off the floor and started toward the cemetery. The feeling of being watched didn't subside. In fact, if anything, it only grew. Link shook off the feeling as paranoia for the monsters that were probably after him now.

Long off, the god of archery was sitting at the edge of his temple, looking down at his son with a blank expression. Soon enough, a woman sat down by his side. She looked just like him, but she held a slightly wilder look. There was no mistaking that they were brother and sister.

"What're you thinking?" The woman asked as she waved her hands around her brother's face to annoy him. The man didn't move, encouraging the girl to move her hands even more. "It's not wise to ignore me Apollo. Answer!"

"It's Lord Apollo." He childishly stuck his tongue out at her, breaking out of his normally serious demeanor. Although he was an adult, being around his sister always brought him back to his kid mode.

"Psh, I can call you whatever I want, little brother." She grinned. The god glared at her.

"It was by like, five seconds, let it go!"

"Yeah yeah, like I said, what are you thinking?" She ignored his annoyed look.

"I'm thinking…that this kid won't last long." He rested his head on his knees as he continued to look at the teen walking around. The woman frowned and gave her brother a disturbed look.

"What makes you think that? He could make it. Isn't he supposed to save Skyloft and Olympus?"

"Yeah, supposedly. But just look at him; he's a teen running around with a sword and has no idea how to use it! He'll be monster chow in seconds!" The god sighed and leaned on the pillar behind him.

"Well whose fault is that? Why didn't you just send him a bow and arrow! He'll know how to use that."

"I can't interfere with my son's path, you know the rules. Well actually you don't, since you got that virgin thing going on, but still."

"Well, maybe you can't help your son, but I can." She muttered, ignoring what her brother just said.

"Do what you want, meddle in people's lives." The god yawned. His sister kicked him slightly as she got up and left, leaving him alone to his thoughts. He continued staring at Link before turning away from him. "I just don't see how this kid is going to be our salvation."

**Well, the ending to the first chapter was a bit…abrupt. Yeah, didn't know how to end it XD so it just got cut off awkwardly, sorry about that. Yeah…so far we've only seen the younger, less mature gods, but oh well. Trust me, Zeus will not be like Hermes, Apollo, or Artemis. Actually, in my mind, I think it's just those three who act immature often. I can't picture Athena sticking her tongue out or Zeus giving Poseidon a noogie, but that's just me. **

**Thank you for the review. Though I don't know what you think I did XD**


	3. Chapter 3

The blonde teen continued to run down the empty street, still feeling like someone was tailing him. A bright flash appeared behind him, making him jump in surprise. A young woman walked gracefully toward him, almost looking like she was _gliding_. Link stared at her in amazement, not sure what to do. One thing was for sure though. _She _was the one that had been following him.

"So, you're my nephew." The woman scrutinized Link carefully. "You look like a promising warrior, for a male, I mean." Link frowned, feeling offended. The woman gave a large laugh before explaining. "I am Artemis, your aunt. I just came down here to help you, since your father won't be much help to you because of the stupid 'rules'." The goddess made air quotes and rolled her eyes before reaching behind her and pulling out a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She handed them to Link, who sunk back with the new weight of the weapons. Looking down at the gift, Link gave a nervous thank you, not meeting her in the eyes.

"Looks like you're not mute after all, huh? Apollo's like that too. It's a pain to get him to actually talk, but when he does, I regret he ever opened his mouth." Artemis smiled softly. Link continued looking downward, not sure what to do in the presence of his aunt. He never had to deal with family, much less _gods. _There was a nagging thought in the back of Link's head. _'Ask her, go on, ASK HER!'_

"What does my father think of me?" Link finally looked up and met Artemis's gaze. The smile fell quickly off the woman's face.

"Not much." The lady admitted. Link's eyes favored the pavement again 'This is awkward.'

"Well, only because you can't use the sword, since you don't know how to. That's why I came down here with the bow, to shut him up. Are you okay there…?" She asked when Link didn't reply. He looked up suddenly with a fierce expression of determination.

"I'll prove him wrong." Link smiled. If you looked at Link without knowing who he really was, you would think he was just a regular kid. You probably wouldn't even notice him. But now as he stood in front of the goddess, you couldn't mistake him for anything else; he **is** the son of Apollo. His eyes held an unwavering confidence. "I won't use the bow until I absolutely need to. I'll get to Skyloft with the Skyward Sword." With that, Link bowed in thanks, turning back into the regular old kid he was. He then turned and left, running.

"Well will you look at that. I wasn't expecting that." The woman raised her eyebrows, impressed with the boy's sudden outburst. She kept staring at Link as he ran until she could only hear his footsteps on the pavement. A flash appeared next to her, and Apollo himself now stood beside her. The man gave her a dull stare before speaking.

"What'd you do?"

"What do you mean, 'what'd I do', I helped him!" The woman gave her brother a glare. "You know, I think you're underestimating him."

"He doesn't have what it takes. He's no Heracles." The man brushed off her comment.

"He'll prove you wrong." Artemis crossed her arms. Apollo lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh? I haven't seen you have this much faith in a male since…well, me."

"Like I had any faith in you." The woman snickered, earning her a glare. "He told me before he left; he would prove you wrong and learn to use his sword. He seems to have named it the 'Skyward Sword', in honor of Zeus."

"Actions speak louder than words, but let's see how he handles eidolons." The god shrugged carelessly.

A few blocks down, Link was face to face with the old grave keeper's house. The place looked ready to fall apart, with cracked windows and mold over all the cement walls. It didn't even look like anyone lived there anymore.

'A fitting place for the flame of Hades' Link thought as he jiggled the stubborn doorknob, which refused to open. Adding to his bad luck with the door, the door knob had a strange slimy texture that didn't smell good _at all. _Link grunted and threw his weight at the door in an attempt to break it down. Frowning, he unclipped his earring and brought out the sword. He slashed furiously at the door, then kicked down the resilient wood. Link grinned and stepped in the house, keeping the sword out for light, since it had a slight glow to it. The glyphs on his arm began to pulsate with light, and the bottom left triangle on his glove was flashing gold.

'If that's not a sign that I'm in the right place, I don't know what is.' He stepped around carefully. The rooms were dusty and dark, giving off that horror movie feeling; like something was about to jump out and end you at any minute. Link shrugged it off and kept going. He wasn't afraid of the dark! No, he was all grown up! A warrior! The footsteps he heard behind him were just the creaking of the floor boards! That weird laugh was just…wait, weird laugh?

Link looked around in fear, scanning the area for anything that could be a danger. Seeing nothing, he continued on, gripping his sword tightly. Reaching the end of the hall, it was clear Link wouldn't be able to reach the second floor, unless he somehow sprouted wings and flew over the collapsed stair case. 'Huh…how am I supposed to get up there?' Spotting a piece of rope over in the corner, Link looked at his new bow and sighed. 'Already I'm going to have to use it. It's barely been ten minutes since I said I would use it.'

He tied the rope tightly to the end of the arrow and swung his weapon in position, feeling guilty for even touching the gift he had just renounced. He shot it at the upper wall, and tugged the thing to make sure it was stable. It felt safe enough; he started climbing the rope up toward the second floor. Reaching the second landing, he scanned the area, his heart leaping at the sight of a grand door. The glyphs on his arm shun brightly, flashing to indicate that he was at the right place. Sprinting toward the large ominous door, he tugged furiously on the handles. It wouldn't open.

'Strange, this door is locked too. _Why!_' Link turned from the door and explored the others, in hopes of finding a key. Upon opening the door across from him, he found three chests; two small wooden ones and a large decorated one. Deciding to save the best for last, he opened the smaller chests first. Inside chest one; a pouch. 'Wow…what a letdown. Well, at least this will be useful…I think.' Link thought as he tied it around his waist. Inside chest three; strange gold coins. 'No clue what they are, might as well take them though. It looks like some sort of old money' he slipped the coins into his new pouch. Finally turning to the center chest, he opened it slowly and dramatically to find… a cube thing. What.

'_This _was in the huge fancy box? Even the coins and pouch were more useful than whatever this is. It's not even a cube, there's notches all over it and little skulls and candles. Hold on…maybe…this is the key?' Link turned the object in his hands several times before nodding to himself. He ran over toward the large door and spent several minutes trying to find the lock, and then trying to fit the cube thing in. After several agonizing minutes and several bad words, the key finally clicked into place.

Crying out with relief when the door finally opened, he jumped as his glyphs glowed with enough force to make his arm hair stand up. There were strange marks written all over the floor, glowing in time with his own marks. Link knit his eyebrows together; something felt off here. All the hair on his body stood up, and his skin was covered in goose bumps. Something was _definitely _watching him, but it wasn't Artemis or Apollo. The presence felt evil and aggressive. Link hesitated before slowly putting his left hand down toward the center of the marks, and gasped as everything went black.

**My internet died people, I'm sorry. Well to be specific, murdered, but whatever. Apology accepted? No? Okay. Well…moving on, I was originally going to put a huge ton of puzzles inside the funeral house, like a dungeon, but I was bored out of my mind **_**typing **_**it, I didn't want to make you guys read all that. So I skipped to the only puzzle that wouldn't take too long to write; the boss key. I was also going to introduce the Claw Shots here, but I decided against tools, because it'd be hard to explain how the hell Link is carrying all that. It works in game, but not in a story. **

**Reviews would be awesome, and see you next chapter, should you decide to go on with this miadness. **


	4. Chapter 4

Link startled awake and got up, discovering himself inside a foggy graveyard. The fog was too dense to see things clearly, but Link swore he could see great billowy figures floating around through the emptiness. He nervously looked around, taking in more of the area. Around some of the trees, there were strange statues positioned with their arms folded over a massive weapon. The statues were unsettling, with their large emotionless masks. If the architect wanted them to look human and friendly, he certainly did a horrible job of it. Even weirder, there were small drops placed around the field, glowing red and sometimes black.

Needless to say, Link was confused. He racked his head, trying to remember how he got here. Then it hit him; he passed out after he touched the floor in the cemetery keeper's house. Well, that didn't help him in figuring out how to get the heck out of the place. Analyzing his surroundings again, he realized it was the exact graveyard he visited before passing out. Wonderful, all he had to do was go back to the house and continue searching for the flame! Grinning, the boy set off in an aimless direction. As soon as he took three steps, the entire world around him took on a sinister red hue, the fog cleared, and the statues awakened. Their eyes glinted and the massive things lunged toward link with their club in hand. Link yelped and startled backward, landing on the ground. As soon as he fell, the world returned to the dim gray color with the fog.

'_What_ _was that?' _he thought, noticing for the first time that he was in a circle. The circle was exactly like the one in the house. Frowning, he took a step out of the circle cautiously. The world resumed its hellish appearance, and he jumped back into the circle. 'I don't get it' Link let out a frustrated sigh. Staring intently at the circle, he noticed that what he thought to be symbols was actually _letters._ Whenever he tried to focus in on them though, they would turn back to unreadable figures. Link unfocused his eyes and read the words.

"Beware of the Guardians if you wish to leave this horror, leave protection to fight for your life. Many have run around endlessly, drowning in their sorrow. Return the tears to end the Eidolon's strife. But be warned; should you be caught, all your effort will have been for naught."

Link groaned; it was a puzzle. He _hated _puzzles. That key in the house was enough, now a word puzzle!? He sat down cross legged and began deciphering the message.

'Okay…guardians' Link thought as he looked over at the frozen statues. 'That could be them. Beware the Guardians? You don't have to tell me twice! Leave protection…I guess that's this circle. No one's attacking me now. Running around endlessly…maybe people got trapped here? Is _that _what the Guardians are made up of? People who got stuck here forever?' Link shivered before shaking his head. 'Quit thinking so pessimistically. I wonder what Eidolons are. End their strife? I guess I'll skip over that part. Well the tears must be the weird glowing drops, and I guess I have to return them here. Should you be caught, all your effort will have been for naught. Huh? Wait, if the Guardians catch me, will I just have to start over and gather every single tear, or does it mean that I die? _All _my effort would have been for nothing? It does say fight for my life though. How exactly am I supposed to collect all of these tears without getting caught! I don't really know what Eidolons are either. Argh, how am I supposed to do this? Whatever. Well…It's now or never. I should get it over with.'

Link got up and gave one hard look at the closest statue to him before sprinting out into the graveyard. His stomach leaped as the world shifted again, but he kept running toward the tear. To his horror, the Guardian was starting to close in on him, standing right over the tear. Link shut his eyes and kept running, hearing the ground pounding with each step the Guardian took. Almost as if the world had slowed to a stop, he opened his eyes to see the massive club in the Guardian's hands being swung straight at his face. In a last effort, Link hurled himself under the weapon toward the tear. He shut his eyes as he gripped the tear fearfully, waiting for the impact. No longer hearing any movement, he opened his eyes. The graveyard was back to its calm grayish hue, minus the fog. The statue was back at its original position, eyes shut.

Link raised his eyebrows. It seemed as though the tear was giving him extra time. 'So _that's _how I can avoid the Guardians; find the tears while they give me time when I'm not under attack! I wonder how much time they give me…well I can always run back to the circle if I run out of time. Guess I'll find my time limit as I go.' He grinned and jumped over the tombstone, making his way toward the other tears. Laughing at how easy the challenge was, he climbed up onto a particularly tall tombstone to search for any more tears. His eyebrows furrowed as he saw what the great billowy things where from before. They looked close to what we pictured ghosts to be as kids. It was like a huge bed sheet floating around with a mask on and a lantern. As comical as it sounded, the spirits unnerved Link. They had the same masks as the other Guardians. 'I'll have to avoid those. They don't look anywhere as near threatening as the others though.' Turning his attention back to the tears, his smile returned. Seeing only one left in a strange patch of land, he jumped down joyfully and ran toward the last tear. Coming closer, he realized that the tear wasn't on land at all; it was on a strange liquid. It was like water, but with a silver tone. Link shrugged and continued toward the tear. After all, a bit of water never hurt him!

Splashing into the water, he froze as the surroundings turned menacing again, and heard the clanging of the Guardians heading straight for him. As he ran back toward the circle with the tear in hand, he thought as many swear words as he could remember, wondering why the Guardians had woken up. It had been less than a minute since he collected the last tear, and so far the tears lasted about three minutes. Was it the water?

Link turned back to look at the water, but his vision was obstructed by the huge monster following closely behind. He turned back and ran faster until he was in the circle. Lights flashed around him, and Link fell forward as the whole world went bright.

'Not again!' Link thought as he lost consciousness.

**Whoo! That was me, incorporating the Silent Realms here. *Way to state the obvious Storm* Anyway, I don't actually know how Eidolons work in Greek Mythology, so I kind of changed the behavior to fit the story. Sorry about that._. **

** Huh…Never actually thought about that, Link being a son of Athena. It actually makes sense when I think of it, I just never thought of Link as wise, but he must be pretty smart to get through all those puzzles. Not to mention the blonde hair and the excellent battle strategy. I had decided on Apollo because of his abilities with the bow and arrow, being a harp player, and other reasons that I hope to come into the story. **


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as he regained consciousness, Link jumped up and unclipped his earring, bringing out the Skyward Sword. The first thing Link noticed: he was back in the old cemetery keeper's house. It was oddly comforting to be back there, but when it really comes down to it, would you rather be chased around by creepy statues in a cemetery, or in the house standing in the dark?

After taking in his surroundings, Link noticed his marks flashing. One of the triangles on his left hand was completely filled by light. Link smiled, holding up his arm to eye level to look at it. He had to admit; glowing tattoos were worth the pain to get.

"Thank you for returning our memories." A male voice whispered in Link's ear. Link dropped his arm and returned to battle stance. His eye brows furrowed, seeing nothing there to cause the voice. Even weirder, the voice didn't sound normal. It was hard to describe it…but if you had to, it'd be ghostly. Wavy. There was a slight echo about it that gave it a supernatural feel. 'Our memories? What memories? What's going on?'

"The tears." The voice said simply. Link froze. 'The tears were memories?'

"Yes." Link shivered when the voice responded to his thought. His head was no longer a safe haven. "We've been trapped here for so long…" The voice continued. "…Without a single memory of our past life. It makes us rather…Restless. Angry. Confused. I attacked the living out of spite. Not knowing who you are can sometimes bring out the worst in someone.'

'You attacked me?' Link thought, puzzled. How exactly did this spirit thing attack him? 'When was that? Just who are you anyway?'

"I am an Eidolon; a soul bound to an area for all eternity as long as it doesn't know its true self. Caught between the world of the living and the dead, we Eidolons grow evil and restless, creating traps for anyone who crosses. Humans who come here just get nightmares, very bad ones I might add. But demigods are sent to the Silent Realms. There is where I attacked you."

'Silent Realms…' Link thought it over. 'Was it that weird graveyard with the statues that hurtled at me? Why would you attack me!'

"As I said before, envy of the living. I am sorry. I have attacked you, yet you have still set me free from this tortuous state, Son of Sun God. I present you this gift to make up for it. Now I shall go…You shall not hear from me again." The voice faded out slowly, though Link tired to call it back to ask more questions. Link sighed; none of it made sense. If Eidolons do this all the time, why did the gods assign him the task of going through them? The Eidolon never said anything about the Flame of Hades, yet he still received it. Shrugging, Link reached down to pick up what the Eidolon left behind. He heard metal clang together and the package got heavier as he lifted it up to the light. Two black gloves were on the floor. 'But I already have gloves!' Link frowned as he put the gloves on. The gloves morphed into heavy, metal gloves with three claws at the end of each. Link's eyes widened. . Unsure what to make of them, Link wiggled his fingers around, causing that claw to shoot out. The claw latched onto an old book and dragged it back, attached to Link's arm with a surprisingly light chain. Perplexed, he let go of the book and aimed for a larger one, receiving the same results

'Claws that shoot out huh?' Link grinned. 'Clawshots. That's what I'll call them'. With that said, or rather thought, Link took off the Clawshots. They reverted back to normal old gloves. He put them inside his pouch, feeling content with what he managed to do tonight. Already, he got a new weapon, a tool, a pouch, coins, and the first flame! Yawning, Link walked out of the room and swung himself over the handrail down to the first floor, stumbling as he messed up his landing. Shrugging off the slight pain in his ankles, he dragged his feet toward the old couch and collapsed on top of it. One thing about Link: no matter where he is, whose furniture it is, or what's happening, if he wants to, he _will _sleep on it, and you can't stop him.

Link easily drifted off to sleep, having rather vivid dreams. In his dreams, he was in what looked like heaven. He was in a small sunny town, completely surrounded by sky. There were rocks suspended over parts of the town with waterfalls flowing endlessly down toward the huge lake in the middle of the town. Far off there was an enormous statue, and a red roofed building with cloth for doors. In short, he was in paradise. He was at a pier that lead off into the sky. Next to him was a girl about his age. Blonde haired, blue eyes, and a smile that made Link feel like they had been friends all their lives. He felt incredibly nervous at once. He didn't know how to talk to a girl! For gods' sake, he lived in an all boy's school all his life!

"Aw come one Link, why won't you ride with me?" The girl asked, grabbing his hand. Link gasped and tried to pull his hand away out of embarrassment. The girl held tight and pulled him to the end of the pier. "You're acting weird today. Didja forget how to fly?" The girl asked, looking puzzled. Link mirrored her expression. Since when did he know how to fly!?

"Just do what I do, okay?" The girl let go of his arm and sprinted straight off the pier into the sky. Link gasped and ran forward. He looked over the edge of the pier and heard whistling coming from the girl as she fell. A shadow fell over Link and a huge rush of wind sped over him as a massive purple bird swooped down over his head toward the girl. She laughed and climbed on the beast easily before flying back up to where Link was.

"See, was that so hard?" She teased as she jumped off the bird. Link fumbled to try and speak before simply shaking his head. "Alright then, try it!' The girl grabbed him and shoved him off the pier.

Link closed his eyes tightly in fear, feeling his stomach leap. He would've screamed if he were the vocal type, but instead clenched his teeth. Little by little, Link opened his eyes, growing to love the feeling of free falling. The freedom! He felt like he was flying. Link smiled peacefully as he looked back up at the happy town.

"Whistle! Whistle!" The girl shouted down. Link hurriedly started whistling, remembering that he wasn't going to fall forever. Link looked around for any bird that would lift him up like the girl. He hoped that this time the bird would be red. He always did like red. Next to green, it was his favorite color. Frowning when he saw no bird coming, he whistled more fiercely. He looked at the girl desperately. Why wasn't the bird coming?

The girl gasped when she realized what was happening and backed up before sprinting forward to save Link. She rushed down through the air as fast as she could. Just as she was about to raise her hand up to whistle, a man swooped in and carried her away. The girl screamed as the man took her away, kicking at him fiercely, causing him to laugh. As Link fell down helplessly with the girl's screams echoing in the background, the man looked back at Link, grinning with malice. Link's eyes widened with fear. The man was _him. _The sky turned scarlet, land the Sun was a black orb in the sky. The buildings in the town were charred and burned, and the waterfalls flowed with blood. The fluffy white clouds were now black smoke. The man grinned wider before raising a finger to his lips.

"Shhh. This is our secret, little hero."

Link startled awake, covered in cold sweat. Looking around the dark house, he suddenly felt like he was in danger. The house wasn't safe anymore. The dark was filled with unseen monsters. The silence was deafening. Link was breathing hard as he looked around the still room.

'I've got to get out of here'. He quickly got to his feet and threw open the front door. Moonlight burned holes in his eyes after being in the dark for so long, but Link ignored it and continued on. He avoided thinking about the dream as much as possible, because the mere thought made him panic. He shook his head. 'It's just a dream. It's just a dream!'

He hated the silence. It made him think that he was back in the Silent Realms, or back in the old house. It was like he couldn't escape that evil feeling. It's not like he could go home and snuggle up in his bed with the lights on and wait for the night to pass. Link was a run away, with no allies. He was going to have to deal with that unnerving feeling.

Just as Link began to calm down, a thundering crash sounded behind him. A massive beast stood a few feet away from him. The thing had a scorpion's tail, swinging around menacingly, attached to the body of a lion with large bat like wings over it. The most horrifying of all: it had a human face. The monster sneered as Link backed away from it, fumbling to get his sword out.

"Well well, look what we have here." The monster licked its lips before lunging at Link.

**Well, was the chapter worth the wait? Probably not because of my grammar and pathetic attempt at description. I'm so sorry ;_; Anyway, decided to include the tools from Skyward Sword! Just three of them, because I want this story to have some aspects of Legend of Zelda, which is kind of hard in a mythology setting. If I had it my way, I'd make the Stalmaster show up here instead of a manticore, but gotta stick to mythology. **

**Guest: I made Link not really surprised because well, he's Link. He never really questions why he's always chosen to save Hyrule or why the goddess chose him. He just accepts it and moves on. I only made him think about his dad so you would see how determined Link could be. **

**Madlink: Thanks, yeah I was going to give him a shield at a later point. You have a point there, so I'm going to include the Clawshots plus other reoccurring tools. Eh, it's a goddess arrow, could be unbreakable.**


	6. Chapter 6

The great beast slowly circled Link, analyzing every movement he made. It suddenly snapped at Link, chuckling when Link jumped and gave a feeble swing of the sword.

"Not sure what to do now, huh?" The manticore commented as it continued toying with Link. Link's eyebrows knit together in frustration. The manticore was right. He _didn't _know what to do, and any minute he could become the beast's next meal. The monster inhaled deeply.

"Apollo's spawn huh? That's good." He grinned, showing his sharp yellow teeth. "Posiedon's taste too much like fish, and Hephaestus' have that explosive after effect of eating spicy food." The thing shuddered, as if it was remembering the after effects of a particular demigod. "Now Apollo, he's the sun god, and you'd think it'd be even worse than Hephaestus, but since he's also a medical god, it doesn't leave you with any bad ailments." The manticore mused, sitting down to rub his chin. Or scratch, since his talons were so long they raked his face when he tried to rub his chin.

Link let the monster go on about the after effects of various demigods; after all, the longer he talked, the longer Link lived. His eyes scanned the area nervously, looking for an escape. There were none. The entire area was too open; he'd be dead if he ran.

'What do I do? My first opponent is a manticore, I've never used a sword before, and I just woke up. Yeah, I'm sure to win this…' Link's heart started beating faster. He gripped the sword harder and shut his eyes. An image appeared behind the darkness of his eyelids. He no longer heard the monster's words. There was silence. A dark desolate street, with just one street lamp to give some sort of light. Two people were under the street lamp, talking. One was a boy; he was blonde and dressed in green, holding a sword loosely in his hands as he looked at the other's face. The other was a woman, but clearly wasn't human. Blonde like him, but there was a godly aura surrounding her. A slight glow.

"What does my father think of me?"

"Not much"

Link opened his eyes and stared at the ground. 'He's right in a way. I really can't fight! I've never even fought the kobalos before, now I have to fight a manticore? Well you know what; if I'm going to die, I'm going to die fighting.'

"…And you know, Ares's give off that bad taste too. I guess that's the fight in them- an unpleasant bunch, the whole lot of them." The monster kept going on. "They do make fair opponents though, almost fun enough to make up for the taste-"

"Hyah!" Link yelled as he leaped forward while swinging the sword. The monster slashed his claws instinctively, hurting Link's right arm. He winced, tears automatically springing to his eyes. He looked down at the flowing wound briefly before a paw was swung at him, sending him crashing back. Link groaned, clutching at his chest. He got up slowly, looking at the manticore's grinning expression through blurred vision. He tired another tactic, borrowing the move from a video game he used to play back in the boarding school. He feinted left before rolling to the right, but again the monster heaved his paw at him.

"You're new to this fighting thing, aren't you?" He laughed sadistically, reminding him very much of his coach. Link's eyes widened and looked at the monsters face closely before sighing with relief; it wasn't the coach. 'It's funny, I'm about to die, but I still care who kills me, as if it would change my fate. Maybe it would, but I would never find out. Not after this…'

"Not the funnest prey, but I'm not going to wait around any longer.' The monster roared and sprang forward. In a last attempt, Link jumped and swung his sword forward, shutting his eyes as he did so.

'I'mdeadI'mdeadI'mdead.' He thought it rapidly in his head with the monster's growls of pain in the background. He opened one eye and laughed merrily when he saw what happened. He was seated backward on the manticore, his sword driven into its back. The monster roared furiously, indignant at Link's laugh.

"Lucky move demigod, but it's going to take more than that to kill me off!" The monster struggled up into the sky, flapping its great wings with difficulty. Link looked at it with annoyance. 'There is a sword in your spine and you're still flying?!'

Link gripped the sword tightly as the monster purposely veered around in a desperate attempt to throw Link off of him. To his horror, the monster was now flying at high speeds, steering them to a more populated part of town. The buildings were higher. The monster thrashed against them to get Link to fall. Link struggled to keep on, gripping the sword with his all his might and wrapping his legs as tightly as he could around the beast. He glanced up, seeing a glimpse of a metro station as the monster sent them both crashing through the window.

Link's mind worked quickly. Looking around, he was in an office of some sort; smashed cubicles leading down the room. The office was dark and abandoned, papers flying around everywhere. Link brushed himself off and looked out at the station. He had to get to the station somehow. He was high up in an apartment with a murderous creature on the loose. All he had were the Clawshots, the coins, the bow and arrow, and his sword, which he managed to pull out while they crashed in. He ran to the next window that was closest to the station. Looking out the window, he saw a nearby street lamp and the street lamp next to the station. He could use the Clawshots to get across. Both of them shot out, right? But would he survive? This would be his first time using it with his own weight, and he was going to test them out up on the third floor?

Hearing a thunderous crash behind him and the sound of computers being crushed, Link forgot all the consequences. If he was going to die, might as well be from height instead of the beast. He had a feeling the beast would be more painful. Link hurriedly put his sword-earring on, then jammed his hands into the gloves. The monster snarled somewhere nearby. Link panicked and decided to just try it. Thanking the gods that he was an archer's son, he aimed at the street lamp. The claws closed around the metal bar connecting the light to the pole holding it up. He quickly aimed at the next street lamp and shot. As soon as it connected, Link used it to swing into the train station, hearing snarls approaching.

Link briefly panicked at the turnstile before just jumping over the thing. The teen waited impatiently for the train to come. Was transportation always this slow?! He turned swiftly when he heard a crash far behind him. The monster was ramming at the turnstile, far too large to fit in. The scene would've been comical had he not been in mortal danger. As the train arrived, Link jumped in, thankful that the train was empty.

"This isn't the last you'll hear from me, son of Apollo! Not by any means!" The manticore roared in his most terrible voice, sending chills down Link's spine. "If it's my dying act, I'll get you! I'LL GET YOU!"

The train doors closed and the train moved forward, the monsters anguished screams vibrating throughout the cart. Link sat down, hating the darkness that now surrounded him. The windows were pitch black, and the train lights were flimsy, flickering every time they hit a bump.

Searing pain washed through Link's body. He looked over and saw that his entire right arm was drenched in blood. The skin itself was torn in four long rips, a sickly green surrounding the exposed flesh. It made Link sick to look at it. The adrenaline had prevented him from feeling the pain during his flee, but now that he was relaxed, his arm might as well be doused in acid.

Link tried to ignore the pain, figuring out his next course of action. Poseidon's flame was next, but he needed medical help. Although…what kind of hospital would treat manticore scratches? He groaned as he set his head back. _No wonder his dad didn't think he couldn't make it. _

Link looked up as he heard the cart door open. A fragile old lady walked slowly over to the seat in front of Link, not jostled by the train's movement in the slightest. She wore a large brown overcoat and a shawl over her hair, carrying two brown sacks with her. She opened both sacks, revealing two cauldrons. One resembled Kool-Aid, full of bubbling red liquid. The other was a supernatural purple, fumes leaving the liquid.

"Need anything, dearie?" The old woman gestured toward the two pots.

"What's that?" Link choked out through the pain, knowing that strangers wouldn't understand his silence. The old woman smiled. She pointed at the red pot first. "That's cherry nectar. In the old days we would give demigods pure nectar. Nectar is made for the gods, humans disintegrate at the first sip. They could handle it, being half god, but some over did it and well, you know what happens. " The old woman grimaced as if remembering something awful. "Now days it's diluted with cherry flavored juice. It'll still heal you, but the recovery is slower and you won't explode if you drink too much. I'll give you a free sample, you really need it." She nodded at Link's wound. "First fight I expect. Come back if you need anything else dearie."

Questions swarmed Link's head as he took the bottle of red liquid from the woman's hands. What were the old days like? What else could he buy that would help? Were old woman always in trains at night selling potions and advice?

He held the bottle in confusion for a second. Did he pour it over his arm, or drink it?

"Both, youngling. Drinking will stop the pain, but pouring it over the injury will heal it faster." The woman said helpfully, reading his expression. Upon hearing "Drinking will stop the pain", Link chugged half of the juice, feeling the relief wash through him. His mind was clearer without the intense pain hovering over him. He sat back in his seat and carefully poured the remaining liquid over his arm, wincing slightly. The initial pain was brief, but well worth it for the soothing feeling it brought afterward. Link let the thick substance pool over his injury, watching the green tint of his skin fade away. The cuts stopped bleeding, but the wound was still open. That wouldn't close for a few days, but at least it was now painless and clean.

"Thanks." Link smiled at the old woman, offering her the bottle back. The woman shook her head.

"No no, it's yours to keep. Carry around the nectar in that bottle for emergencies." The woman waved Link off. Link thanked her again. There was an uncomfortable silence. Link wanted to know more, but this was the most he had ever spoken in his life. He didn't know if he wanted to keep talking to find out more or stop for the sake of being silent again. One thing was for sure, this woman would be a hell of a lot more informative than Google.

'I wonder how much the nectar costs. Somehow I don't think she'll take dollars. What is nectar anyway?' Sitting there, Link remembered the coins he found back in the cemetery keeper's house. He quickly opened his pouch and took out the coins. He looked at the woman for help.

"Those are drachmas: Greek currency. The nectar costs five drachmas."

Link scooped the liquid up into his bottle and paid the woman, storing the bottle in his pouch. He gave the purple pot a confused look before looking up at the elderly woman again.

"That's a rejuvenation potion. It'll repair any break in your shield and heal you a little too. Of course, you need an empty bottle if you have any intention of buying some."

"Shields? Where can I buy one?" Link asked, curious enough to ask.

"Next cart down, there should be a shop there as well. Remember young one, you can _always_ find help in the humblest of places. The trains are filled with shops like this, even more elaborate. Humans never notice because of the Mist." The woman sat back in her seat comfortably, as if done working for the day now that Link was about to move on.

"What's mist?" Link asked in confusion.

"There's reason we can see monsters and they can't. The Mist fogs their eyes and doesn't let them see what's going on around them. They only see what they what they can accept; children can see monsters until the time that the 'monsters don't exist' nonsense sets in. Children's imagination and open mindedness is seen as gullibility and hallucinations to the close minded adult. You could say that demigods are the kids that never grew up. We still accept things as they are. Even after we grow up."

Link marveled at the old woman's wisdom, mulling the new information over.

"Thank you." He bowed to her and turned to the cart door, opening it. He yelped as the train turned suddenly while he was still crossing, making him fall against the closed door. The teen leaned against it while regaining his balance, looking around at the dark tunnel for a while. The train no longer seemed threatening. Even though it was dark like the old cemetery house, there were allies all around. He felt safe. Link continued on to the next dimly lit cart. This time there was an old man there, wearing a long old tattered grey coat and some ragged blue gloves. It seemed to Link that all the merchants here looked as if they were homeless, or poor.

"You can _always_ find help in the humblest of places." The woman's voice repeated in his ear. Link continued on until he stood in front of the man, waiting until he took notice of him.

"What can I do you for?" The old man asked gruffly. The voice startled Link, not expecting such a strong voice after speaking with the fragile old lady. Link stammered for a few moments, forgetting how to speak.

"Um, shield?" Link asked, hoping the man would understand. The man chuckled at him, seeming warmer than he looked originally.

"Sorry if I startled you. These are the shields I've got." The man took out three bracelets. One was wooden, the other iron, and the last a strange purple metal. "I'd suggest the wooden shield for starters. Especially since its cheaper, not to mention lighter than the iron one. Just keep it away from fire. The shield could last you all your life, if you keep it in shape."

Link picked up the wooden bracelet, and almost fell forward as the bracelet expanded into a heavy shield. Examining the front, a wolf was carved onto it. Link grinned and looked up at the merchant. "How much?"

"Fifteen drachmas." Link groaned as he handed it over. That left him with no money. The man laughed again.

"Don't worry boy. Drachmas are easy enough to come by. They're all over the place, if you look hard enough. Some genius had the bright idea of spreading money all over the place. Supposedly it's to help incoming demigods use their wits to survive, but it's just plain annoying. Anyway, good luck with whatever quest yer on." Link thanked him and sat back in the corner of the cart, unequipping the shield. It morphed back to the tiny bracelet. He stored it in his pouch, wondering if the so called Mist was what made weapons and items shift into everyday accessories.

Link got off the train at the next stop, leaving the train station. He breathed in the fresh air, catching the scent of seawater. His marks glowed. 'I must be near the beach. Can't really see anything since it's still dark. I'm surprised…it's still night. It seems like days ago that I left the cemetery, yet it looks like it's only been a few hours.'

As Link kept walking, the sound of the waves crashing on the shores got stronger and stronger. Link collapsed on the bench, breathing in deeply. Hands down, this was a better place than the cemetery's musty old couch. Here he had the smell of the sea, the sounds of the ocean, and-

"Hehehe."

Link straightened up immediately, taking out the Skyward Sword. He panicked, thinking that the manticore was back. Instead, it was the small troll. The kobalos was back for more mischief.

'Oh, it's _you_.' Link murmured before laying back down. Then in fury, he got up again. '_You _stole my wallet. _You got me into this mess!'_ Link charged at the kobalos, slashing it to pieces in one go. The monster disintegrated, leaving with a slight poof of smoke. Link grinned, feeling victorious over the monster that had bullied him all these years. Feeling happy and accomplished -again- Link sat back down onto the bench, dozing off quickly into dream land.

**Long time no type people. How's it going? Now I hope I didn't offend anyone by how I portrayed the merchants. I figured, Percy Jackson made the Satyrs and Chiron disguised as the disabled with the wheel chair and the crutches and whatnot, that I'd make the merchants one of the everyday people that kind of stand out, as well as establish an underground type of Greek society that might come in way later. I don't mean to offend anyone. Anyway, these merchants will come back **_**way **_**later on in this story, and another familiar Skyward Sword face will make an appearance in the next chapter. Sadly Keet, Cawlin, and Strich probably won't come back. Until next chapter, peace!**

**Edit: Sorry for the few spelling mistakes guys ._. just reread it and saw at least three.**


	7. Chapter 7

Link awoke from his newest nightmare, clutching at his chest as the horrors replayed in his mind. The images danced in front of his eyes, taunting him with the fact that they had followed him out of the dream realm. Link closed his eyes, making the scenes all the more real.

A bright red jay had flown with a beautiful purple bird. Red and orange angry flames suddenly roaring through their forest. Smoke had filled the air, their lungs and their feathers. The both flew into traps, the purple bird crying out as it struggled against the net as a human hunter took her. The red bird left behind in the forest of flames, singing its last song in harmony with its purple friend.

The human hunter had the same face as _him_; the object of Link's fears, the man from his previous nightmare. As much as Link feared _him_, he never dreamed about him, let alone twice in a row. Well, now, he didn't just fear the man, though the fear was still there. Now he hated him too. Scorn and disgust built up in Link. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He knew what the dream meant. The purple bird was the girl again, and he was the red one. Once again, _he _had kidnapped the girl and left Link to die alone. The thought that anyone would do that was an abhorrence. How do you leave someone to die? How do you take someone against her own will?!

The answer came to Link the more he dwelt on the topic: personal gain. What that man wanted with the girl, Link didn't know. Horrifying suggestions came up in his head. Link grabbed fistfuls of his hair. The thoughts that swam in his head sickened him. He knew it was just a dream, but things like that happen in real life too. The disguised monsters always lurk in the darkness until they have the advantage, until they're absolutely sure they can get what they want. They didn't care that it would affect multiple other people, that all the struggles the person went through, all the hardship their loved ones had to do to get them to that point. They only cared for their own satisfaction.

Link closed his eyes and steadied his heart, reminding himself that it was only a dream, and that he couldn't correct all the evils in world. He just had to spread as much good to make life worth living despite those monsters. Thankfully, it was relatively easy to calm down in his current situation, being at quite possibly the nicest neighborhood he had ever seen- despite the large amount of graffiti, but hey, that was expected considering where Link lived. The scenery calmed him greatly. He couldn't see the evils anymore- out of sight, out of mind. That thought made Link clench his fist slightly before calming himself again. He couldn't get worked up over everything.

He focused on the scenery again. He was sitting on a bench on the boardwalk, right next to the beach. To his left was the rest of the town. In the center was a statue of a blue whale covered in graffiti that made it look like a hippie, dozens of the same type of graffiti on strange cement blocks that looked like they were supposed to be used as shade, three different parks, flowers everywhere, and small shops and houses on the other side of a small street.

Poseidon sure picked a nice spot for his flame.

Unlike Hades.

Link stretched out on the bench, yawning, completely passed his little 'I wonder why that girl showed up in my dream again; although, she was in bird form this time. I don't get it. Why would I be dreaming about girls?' Link paused, letting that thought sink in before continuing. He briefly wondered if it was all because of puberty. In all honesty, it was sad that Link's sub consciousness had to make him a girl because he couldn't get one. 'Pfft, I could get a girl if I wanted' Link laughed to himself, knowing fully well he'd rather take on the manticore than flirt.

A little boy walking by gave him a weird look, running away toward his mother.

"Mommy, why is that boy laughing?." The boy told her, staring at Link from behind her skirt. She quickly hustled him, glancing at Link as she left.

"Because he made bad decisions in his life. Now what did I tell you? Do you want to end up like him?" Upon hearing this, Link laughed harder, making them walk substantially faster with the fear that Link had gone mad.

Link thought about how he must've looked to the family, then kept laughing. A boy lying on the bench, giggling to himself in the dead silence. They probably thought he was on drugs, which seemed comical to Link, considering what he's seen lately. Flying ladies, ghosts, monsters, old people selling potions and shields. All he needed was a singing Yoda to confirm his new theory.

"Come see what's fresh today! Just one bite and you'll have to stay!" A lobster sang as it danced around its sign. What?

Link leaned back and whistled, covering his face with his hand. 'Maybe it's the lack of sleep?' He wondered to himself, peeking through his fingers slowly, hoping the lobster was gone. The lobster was still there, doing its little dance. Link squinted to see what the sign read. His eyes widened and his stomach rumbled; the sign said "Red Lobster."

After not eating for so long, the mere mention of a restaurant set Link off. He needed food, even if he had to steal it. He vaulted off the boardwalk and made toward the restaurant. The lobster guy went inside too.

"Peatrice! I'm going on break!" He called, his voice breaking in all of its awkward glory. Link winced at the sound. As much as he hated his own voice, he was glad he didn't have that guy's voice. He moved aside so the guy could leave, then walked in.

The hostess, whom Link assumed was Peatrice, was a teen like him, though slightly older. She was blonde too, and had very…different eyebrows, not to mention the big- I mean noticeable mole.

"Welcome to Red Lobster." She drawled. "I suppose you want to check out our menu? Though you're probably just here to check me out…" She grumbled the last bit.

Link, being the poor inexperienced fool he was when it came to girls, stood there completely baffled. Just how exactly was he supposed to respond to that?!

The girl looked up when she didn't hear a response. Upon seeing Link, she straightened up and adjusted her uniform. Her eyes flickered toward his tattooed arm, widening... A smile formed on her lips when she noticed his half healed arm. She leaned forward to get closer to Link. Link backed up, his face heating up. Of all the girls his first encounter could've been with, why did it have to be her?!

"How may I help you?" The girl asked, batting her eyes. Link was taken aback, completely frozen in embarrassment. He slowly unfroze, calming himself down by remembering that he was not only not attracted to the girl, but that chances were that he would never see her again. She wasn't like the girl in his dreams. Even a figment of his imagination was more appealing to Link than the hostess.

'Well, I can't imagine any girl better than her. Few would stand up to the girl's kindness…Her beauty…Her smile…Her laugh…'

"Ehuhm. Hello?" Peatrice's voice shook Link out of his thoughts. She seemed puzzled, wondering why on earth Link was just standing there silently. Even though that's what he does half the time, but she didn't know that.

'Oh how lame was that. That was a pathetic mind drift, she's not even a real girl!' Link thought to himself. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond in such a way that he could gain an ally, like the two demigods in the train. Who knows, maybe she'll give him food for free! Highly unlikely, but worth a try. He needed an ally anyway.

Personal gain reared its ugly head again. Link reminded himself that it wouldn't hurt the girl permanently. It wasn't like those monsters who dared to call themselves human; he wasn't going to scar her for life. But the thought of using someone still bothered Link. He ignored it to the best of his ability. Who knows, she might actually be a good friend- but right now, from the looks of it, the girl didn't want to form a friendship with him. So to even gain the slightest chance of getting on her good side, he would have to meet his toughest challenge yet.

Link would have to flirt.

**Huho! So. I'm actually alive people. More than a month since I've updated, and I apologize, especially since I don't think this chapter was worth the wait. My connection was being stupid. Instead of connecting to wireless connections I actually know the passwords to, it connects to the no signal neighbor's -_- Finally got it to work though!**

**So, thank you for the reviews, as always, and see you next time. **


	8. Chapter 8

Link swallowed and raised his finger, opening his mouth to speak.

"I-"

"YO! Peatrice! We going on break or what?!" The awkward teen stuck his head back in the shop, interrupting Link. Link's finger shrunk back and he closed his mouth, swinging his arms around awkwardly as Peatrice gathered her items up to leave.

"Coming!" She yelled at the boy, rushing out of the door. She paused at the exit, glancing at Link. "Help yourself to the place while we're gone. Just don't get caught." She winked at Link before leaving with the boy, locking the restaurant behind her as she left.

'Did she just give me free access to the entire store? How- wow that was lucky, I'm not going to question it. In fact, I'm going to stop questioning everything. None of this makes sense anymore, ever since Hermes showed up.' Link stood there for a while, taking in the situation until he remembered that he had little time to spare until the two came back. Break lasts what, 10 minutes? That wasn't a lot to eat, use the bathroom, and steal some food, especially with the possibility that the other staff could still be here. Link quickly crept through the store, taking care not to make noise, even though it seemed as though no one else was there. He quickly took the basket of bread from one of the many empty tables and ate ravenously, continuing to look for more food. He smelled seafood just down the hall, and followed the trail down.

'Everything smells amazing, I feel like I should just start sprinting down the hall by now.' Link considered the thought, but quickly abandoned it. There was far too much at stake. What if a chef turned the corner at any minute?

Right on cue, a chef came out of the kitchen door, whistling to himself as he untied his apron. Link froze in fear. That's everyone's natural instinct. It's never to turn and run, it's to stand there like an idiot and get caught. The chef looked up, his eyebrows creasing for the slightest second, and then breaking out into a wide grin. The smile didn't reach his eyes, and his expression mirrored that of someone who was a frequent abuser of Botox.

"Why hello! Welcome to Red Lotus! Come with me to the VIP section." The chef hooked his arm into Link's and pulled him through the kitchen doors down into what looked like a basement door.

"Red Lotus? Isn't this Red Lobster?" Link asked, feeling worried as they stepped down the dark stairs. He didn't feel safe at all. Whenever he would try to free his arms, the man would only clutch him tighter. The dark also worried him. Being the son of a sun god, that wasn't too unusual, but Link wasn't afraid of the dark itself. He was afraid of what was in it.

The chef roared with laughter and wiped at his eyes merrily. "Ah, those two new interns, they always get the name wrong. No my boy, we are Red LOTUS! Not a silly red sea creature."

"Oh." Link's heart pounded loudly in his ears. He didn't dare to say a word. The whole situation was frightening. The dark clouded his thoughts, making him unable to form a proper escape plan. Through his morbid thoughts, the archer heard the dull pounding beat of music. Their steps matched the beat of the music as they walked. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. Soon enough, he saw blue and green lights at the foot of the stairs interrupting the darkness, along with hearing laughter and talking. All the voices sounded like teenagers.

"Well, here you go! Now, off! Go mingle with the other kids! I'm sure you'll make a friend here somewhere." The chef promptly left, disappearing up the dark staircase. Hearing the loud thud of the door far above them locking, Link knew there would be no going back the way he came.

Looking around, he saw a strange mixture of a twenty one and under club and a sea food restaurant. There was loud music, several tables packed with teens eating fish or crab, and flashing lights everywhere. There was even a dance floor and what looked like a bar. Link shuffled from one foot to another uncomfortably. He didn't know anyone there, and he didn't have the slightest clue how to socialize. Heck, it took him a year to befriend Keet, how the hell was he supposed to make a friend here!

"Hey, kid!" A brunette waved Link over to his table. Link walked over and sat down nervously next to the older boy.

"So, whose son are you?" A girl's voice asked as Link was settling down. He looked up to see the girl of his dreams. Literally. Link flashed back to his horrible dream, of the same girl being kidnapped while he died, not being able to do anything about it. She was now sitting calmly in a Red Lotus booth seat.

"I'm uh- um…" Link's tongue got twisted, at lost for words.

'Oh gods, she's real!? I'm imagining things aren't I? Oh gods oh gods, how is this happening. This can't be good. Okay Link, calm down. It's all good. It's all gonna be alright.'

"I mean your godly parent. I'm Zeus, Pipit here is Hermes." She explained, smiling at Link's confused expression. Hermes huh? Link couldn't see the connection between Pipit and the blonde god, other than the same mischievous look they both carried. It was weird on Pipit though. For the moist part, he looked like a serious kid, but when he laughed or smiled, there was the mischief. The girl however- she looked as dignified and happy as he would expect of a child from the king of gods.

"I'm Apollo's son. So wait, everyone here's a demigod?" Link responded, taking everything in as calmly as he could.

"Pretty much." The boy, Pipit, responded. "Isn't it awesome? Me and Zelda have been here for a few hours, just killing time."

"You're Apollo's son?" Zelda asked with awe, looking at his tattoo. Link didn't understand why she, the daughter of Zeus, looked impressed with a god that he could barely remember. His tattoo stung slightly as he thought that, and he smiled to himself. His dad was listening, even if he wasn't pleased, he was paying attention.

"Yeah. Why're you asking?"

"Apollo is one of the most prominent gods in the Greek world! Besides The Big Three, there's another set of powerful gods; Zeus, Apollo, and Athena. Your dad is majorly powerful."

"Zelda's a book worm." Pipit explained as he dangled his fish above his face. Zelda rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement.

"You're no slacker yourself." Zelda giggled. Pipit grinned.

"That doesn't mean the teachers don't hate me."

"Pipit's a troublemaker. A brilliant one at that. He gets good grades and all but he gets detention _way_ too much." Zelda explained.

"You guys go to school together?" Link asked. They both nodded. "What'd you do?"Link raised his eyebrow at Pipit.

"I just wanted to go home earlier." He grinned, looking smug.

"He rewired the bell system so that each period only lasted ten minutes. No one listened when the teachers told them to stay in their seat." Zelda grinned.

"They have no proof it was me." He laughed.

"You left your initials."

The conversation went on, with Link feeling more and more welcome. Pipit and Zelda weren't hard to be around. They were the type of people that were just easy to talk to.

"Oh hey, you're going to love these!" Pipit straightened up and rubbed his hands together as a waiter set down a plate of lotus blossoms. Pipit immediately snagged one up and stuffed it into his mouth, gesturing for Link to take one too. Link hesitated. Something felt off about the flowers. They had a sinister feel to them.

Noticing Link's hesitation, Zelda picked one up and offered it to him as she ate one herself.

"Go on, try it." She smiled warmly and honestly at Link. Link took it from her hand, lifting it up to his mouth. "You won't regret it."


	9. Chapter 9

Link bit into the lotus, immediately falling in love with its taste. His brain rapidly spammed dopamine production. He no longer felt connected to the earth; and yet, at the same time he was. Like the earth's gravity and orbit no longer affected him. He was just a spectator amongst the group of teens, not participating in their activities. Just watching.

And suddenly, those hippie thoughts came to a crashing end as Link passed out again.

He awoke in a fresh, clean bed, dazed and confused. When exactly did he get to bed? He kept his eyes closed, taking in his surroundings little by little. His head still spun from confusion. The air smelled like bacon and eggs and all that good stuff. Opening his eyes, they were hit hard with sunlight, making him squint through.

"Look who's finally awake." Pipit grinned from behind his glass of juice. Link shook his head and sat up. He was in what appeared to be a hotel room. A fancy hotel room.

"How'd I get here?" He groaned as fought back the drowsiness and the sun's blinding light. Apparently, even when you were the son of Apollo, you still go blind if you stare at the sun.

"You passed out." Zelda smiled.

"Again!?" Link groaned again. Just how many times was he going to pass out on this damn quest?

"Again?" Zelda and Pipit shared a confused look.

"Never mind." Link said, quickly realizing his mistake. 'I've spoken so much yesterday that I'm starting to think out loud.' Quickly changing the topic, Link asked the question that had been bothering him since he'd woken up.

"How are you two able to afford a hotel room?" Link questioned. The fact that they lived in here alone was suspicious to Link. Unless they were more than friends…

"Oh, it was lent to us by...That guy. Zelda, do you remember who lent us the room?"

"...No, not really. Huh, that's weird."

Link raised an eyebrow. Something felt off. His thoughts were too clouded to form any kind of conclusion, but something definitely felt off.

"Anyway, let's head over to Red Lotus. I'm getting bored just sitting here eating when we could do that over there- unless Link wants some bacon."

At the rumble of Link's stomach, they all laughed and gave him a seat at the table, Link not noticing how quickly Pipit had changed the topic.

From far up in the heavens, the young god watched his son intently as he strolled out with the two other demigods, and into Red Lotus they went. Apollo sighed and shook his head, turning away from the scene and made his way back up the steps into his temple.

"Whoa…" Link murmured as he stepped into the lower level of Red Lotus' restaurant. Even further down was just about the best amusement park ever created. He was suddenly struck with nervousness. After all this time alone, he was actually going to hang out with friends…Were they his friends? He thought of them as friends, but Link wasn't so sure that Pipit or Zelda felt the same. He didn't really know when it came to people. "Guys, I'll be right back, I need to use the bathroom." Pipit nodded at Link as he turned, and he caught a glance of Zelda's worried expression. Link frowned and kept going and made my way to the bathroom, sighing as I stepped inside. There was only one other boy in the bathroom, Griffin, a Poseidon kid pointed out to Link by Zelda. 'And she sure did look like she liked him, the way she talked about him.' Link grumbled internally. 'But I shouldn't be jealous. I have no reason to, after all. I wonder if he's alright though, he looks downright sick right now.'

Griffin was leaning over the sink, his black locks hanging down over his face as he stared at the running water. His eyes were a deep blue, resembling water way cleaner than the water streaming out of the taps. He clenched his teeth tightly, as if he were in pain or conflicted. His arms gripped the sides of the sink tightly enough to actually crack the porcelain, which wasn't the best sign of someone in a healthy mental state. He groaned and washed his face in the water, when suddenly all the water surrounded him in a violent way, erupting out of the taps. His mark, trident, was glowing a sick harsh red, almost to where it looked like it was bleeding. While a mark may sting a demigod if their parent was angry, ever before had Link seen it to that degree . He cried out and turned to me, clutching his head horribly as the water splashed down on the floor. He walked to me quickly, gripping my shoulders as hard as he gripped the sink edges, causing pain to erupt on one of my shoulders. Looking at it, there was horrible wound that Link thought he never noticed before. '_Just where did it come from_ ? Surely not from Griffin!'

"We're trapped." The boy whispered to me, his eyes frantic and scared- like a trapped animal. "They poisoned our minds, not even my father could reach me in that daze. We have to get out!" He growled out. "The lotus. Don't eat it. _Don't eat it."_

Griffin turned and paced around anxiously, punching a hole in the wall when he couldn't take it anymore. Link leaned away in fear. What was making him act like this?

"We have to get out man, we have to!"

"What the hell are you saying?" I finally blurted out. Hurt filled his eyes before being replaced by anger. He looked absolutely livid.

"If you don't believe me, I'll get out myself. Just how long have we been here! I'm not wasting any more time around this place." He steadied himself and sighed. "Get out while you can. I'm leaving before they force another one of those lotus' on me. Before I lose all reason."

Griffin slammed the door loudly as he walked out.

**Hey :D Guess who's back. Sorry for such a short chapter here…but to make up for it, a longer, much more exciting right next. So if someone could teach me how to do a line break that'd be great ._. Chapters would get way longer. Btw, I'm surprised I actually got a lot more of reviews than normal from the last chapter I posted a while ago. I did that when I wasn't quiet coherent and in the middle of the night. Basically I wrote it drunk off of soda, but it seemed to work ^^. And despite everyone's pleas, Link ate the flower. Because I'm a horrible person. I'll start posting faster now that my finals are over and hopefully I'm not too distracted by the games I got ._.**


	10. Chapter 10

Link stood in the bathroom door way for a while, not knowing what to do. His arm rapidly started burning, Apollo's mark glowing red for a brief moment; but it was nothing compared to Griffin's, as it subsided just as quickly as it came. It didn't resemble a bloody wound either; if anything, it was just the burning sensation that he felt when he first got the mark. Why the sudden pain though?

"Not even my father could reach me in that daze" Link frowned as he remembered Griffin's ominous phrase. 'I thought the gods weren't allowed to interfere with their own children? What'd he mean about his father reaching him? And if Poseidon, second only to Zeus couldn't reach this place…'

Link shook his head and left the bathroom, making his way back to Pipit in Zelda. Pipit frowned when he saw him, and Zelda was nowhere to be found. His eyes darted around in a quick survey of the crowd, then he went back to Link.

"Man, I usually agree with Shrek on the whole 'better out than in' thing, but you look downright terrible. Do you always look this scarred after bathroom breaks?" Pipit grinned through his worried expression. Pipit looked kind of off too, setting Link even more on edge.

"Uh…stomachache." Link lied sheepishly. Pipit snorted before going back to scanning the crowd. Link's eyebrows furrowed. There was definitely something wrong here.

"Where's Zelda?"

"Oh she's uh…You see, she- how do I explain this. Griffin came out of nowhere and started…I don't want to say babbling- he's one of my best friends- but that's exactly what he did. Kept going on about someplace called Skyloft and not to eat the evil flowers." Pipit laughed nervously and scratched his neck. "The thing is that Skyloft sounds familiar, and in a nonsensical way his gibberish made sense. But then a couple of the security guards came over to see what the commotion was and he ran for it, Zelda tailing him. She's like that you know, a worry wart about her friends. The guards ran after her too though. I haven't seen her come back yet, so I'm kind of worried."

"You wanna look for her? What if she's hurt?" Link was just as worried about Zelda now, after seeing Griffin flip out like that and learning he was in Zelda's presence. More worrying was that Skyloft sounded familiar to him too. 'What if Griffin is right…?'

"Hurt? When she's with Griffin? Not possible. The man's a tank, and her power is just as frightening. She'll come back any moment. I'm sure of it" Pipit said the last part looking like he was trying to convince himself instead of Link. His eyes still flickered around the room nervously.

"I'm still going to look for her." Link murmured before disappearing into the crowd. He ignored Pipit's calls behind him and kept going further in, scanning the crowd for Griffin or Zelda. There was absolutely no sign of them, and every other demigod was still as cheerful and oblivious as before.

'Like you?' Link froze at his thought, then shook his head fiercely. Griffin's warnings couldn't possibly have any truth to it. His mark stung at the same time as he thought this, and his face paled with realization. 'Was that what Griffin meant about gods reaching their children? What if it burns to warn danger?' Link kept searching as his thoughts swirled in an angry whirlwind. 'But then why would it burn Griffin so badly? Why'd it burn me worse than usual?'

"Not even my father could reach me in this daze" Griffin's voice echoed again. Hair stood on Link's neck as he kept searching, not missing when the guards in the background started to point at him. 'What if his father was trying to reach him this whole time? He couldn't get through until Griffin woke up.' Link stopped walking around, taking it all in; because if the marks burned all at once for however long the godly parent was trying to reach them, the marks also told you how long you've been in that daze. 'How long have I been here? It could only be at two days ma-'

"Would you like a lotus, sir?" A waiter offered him a plate of them, Link feeling more sickened the longer he looked at them.

"Don't eat the lotus. _Don't eat them_."

"Excuse me?" The waiter's eyes flared. It wasn't Griffin's voice this time. Link had said it out loud by mistake. He froze, cursing himself for thinking out loud again. Link quickly turned and walked away from the furious waiter.

"Would you like a lotus sir?" Another came with an identical plate of lotuses. Link declined, but more and more came toward him with plates of lotuses, to the point where he was surrounded. Link cursed again and reached for his clawshot gloves, or his swords, or anything at all at this point. To his despair, none were with him. Panicking, he ran through them, knocking them over. Guards came running after him, and Link felt utterly terrified. He turned and ducked into a girl's bathroom while out of line of the guard's vision, blushing as he did so. Granted, it was for survival, but it still felt so wrong. Luckily, no one was in there, letting Link breathe a sigh of relief. He leaned against the door with his ear pressed to it, listening to the pounding footsteps fading away as the guards kept running in the wrong direction. Link breathed out and opened the door, looking at the backs of the guards he had avoided. It was unbelievably creepy, that through all that commotion, the teens were still dancing and partying without a care in the world. It was like they couldn't see what was happening around them.

'What if Griffin's right? Oh man, I have to find him and get an explanation.' Link turned, nearly yelling when he looked to his left, finding exactly who he was going to look for, but it was all wrong. Griffin was dressed exactly like a waiter, holding the tray of evil flowers that he had denounced. He extended his arm toward Link, giving an empty smile.

"Would you like a lotus, sir?"

**Author's note: You guys probably hate me for ending this chapter like that, but worry not, my fair fellows! I know what I'm doing. Sort of. Stories never really go in the direction of your outline, as you can see above. Griffin wasn't even supposed to be a character at first XD But he's one know, and I'm going to make sure that he fits well into the story and won't be one of those "Use once" characters that make only one appearance. **

**Does anyone else get the Don't Starve reference? No? I'm the only one who plays that? Ok then ._. Good gravy though indie games are amazing. They are in part to blame for the lack of updates for a few months ._. **

**Feel free to skip these ANs if they ruin the flow of the story for you, and as always, thank you for the reviews. You have no idea how motivating it is to get them. Well maybe you do, but you get the point. Must. Stop. Rambling.**


	11. Chapter 11

"Relax, it's just me. The real me" Griffin whispered, pushing Link back into the bathroom, much to his displeasure. Nether less, Link found himself breathing a sigh of relief. If Griffin was okay, Zelda must be safe.  
"Where's Zelda?"  
"Back in the apartment" He leaned casually back onto the door, but it seemed to Link that he was listening for anyone approaching. It was hard to tell; Griffin normally was a laid back guy. "So, the guards are looking for you, I'm a waiter, as far as anyone else knows, and Pipit's probably walking around half awake. Can you guess what happens now?"  
Link shook his head. All of his ideas were far too risky to actually pull off.  
"Well, listen to this, then you might get what I'm hinting at. The lotus employees know when someone's awake and when someone's pretending. That's all they look for, if you're asleep or not. Now, me being a waiter means that they won't notice if I'm awake. They won't notice most of what I do around here, as long as it's not too flashy. Now what do you think?"  
"I still have the same plans as before, but all of them are still too risky to actually pull off."  
"No pain, no gain; but don't worry, this won't involve a lot of risk. Ready to hear it?" Link nodded. "Alright, you're going to eat this lotus, then I'm going to lead you and Pipit out to the apartment once I get him to sleep again." Griffin grinned.  
"Wait, wouldn't it look suspicious if you lead us out?"  
Griffin's grin deflated immediately, but then his smile came back just as quick as it left.  
"Change of plans, we- someone's coming, quick!" Griffin whispered frantically. Link grabbed Griffin and shoved him into a stall with him, while Griffin quickly stood on the seat so his feet wouldn't be seen. The two males sighed with relief when they heard the foot steps of a girl.  
Link blushed horribly, and he heard Griffin shift uncomfortably behind him. Listening to a girl use the facilities wasn't at the top of Link's to do list. It only got worse when he heard her sigh contently.  
Thankfully, the girl didn't linger, and Link burst out of the stall quickly. Griffin hopped down from the seat, staring at the door with sadness. The blonde raised an eyebrow. He would expect an awkward glance or a weird look, not a sad gaze.  
"She's an old friend. It makes me sad, seeing her asleep. I almost wanted to wake her up right then, but getting you and Pipit out is already hard enough." Griffin explained. He'd been shifting around because of guilt, not from awkwardness. He shook his head.

"Anyway, new plan. You eat this lotus right in front of Pipit. You'll pass out again. He'll be so concerned that he'll drag you over to the apartment, where I'll show up later. Then you'll be home free to do whatever quest you were on. By the way, what quest were you on?"

Link closed his eyes and strained to remember. "Lord Zeus told me to find the three flames and ascend to Skyloft."  
Griffin choked. "What? The flames of the Big Three?"  
Link nodded. Griffin composed himself.  
"I see. So that's what happened. Damn..." The son of Poseidon buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Oh gods how long has it been!" He let his hands fall before smiling bitterly. "Well, good luck kid. Now let's put this plan into action."  
Link kept silent as he walked behind the black haired teen, wondering to himself why Griffin had chosen to help him instead of his old friend, and why he had that reaction to learning about the flame quest. He decided asking would only put Griffin in more pain than he already was.

"Hold on. You should eat the lotus in front of Pipit, not me. I still need to find Poseidon's flame here. I can't leave without finishing what I came for." Link murmured, grabbing the other teen to keep him from leaving. Griffin let out a frustrated groan.

"Yeah, alright, I guess that makes sense." He was able to take off the uniform quickly, thanks to the fact that he still had his other clothes underneath.

Link grimaced. He was causing the other a lot of trouble, despite how helpful he had been. 'What if he was going to rescue his other friends somehow? I'm stopping him all because of a stupid quest. His reaction to that too… I feel like he had that quest at some point. Maybe he couldn't pass it and that's why he's here? Maybe all these kids had that quest and stayed here too long. I only got out thanks to him. Some way to repay him…'

"I'll give it back to you at the apartment-"

"Don't bother. We'll be long gone by then." With that, Griffin turned, crushing the lotus in his grip as he slammed the door behind him.

The blonde stood there for a long time, staring at the uniform in his hands. He couldn't help but feel like a monster. He put the uniform on quietly, regret coating his face. It wasn't fair to Griffin. He would have to repay him eventually.

Stepping outside, he couldn't see Pipit or Griffin, so he assumed that the plan had worked. He weaved through the crowd, careful not to touch someone. He wondered who would come to rescue them, if they ever got out at all. Link felt responsible for them, but then again, how would he be able to free them alone? Even with Zelda, Pipit, and Griffin's help, it would still be a challenge, if he could catch up to them. The black haired teen did say they would be gone by the time he reached them. Gloom settled over him. Zelda was gone, and he wouldn't see her again. Unless she went to Skyloft, the odds of ever finding her again were one in a billion.

Walking up the stairs to the outside while awake was disorienting. Once again, Link was submerged in its seemingly endless darkness. His fears came to light as he listened to the quiet patter of his footsteps. The manticore was behind him, breathing on his neck, threatening his life. Then it was worse; the manticore was no more. Instead, it was _him._ Link's lifelong fear.  
He sprinted up the stairs into the light, shielding his eyes from the raw sun. Yet again, Lord Apollo managed to taunt him in the smallest of ways.  
"What does my father think of me?"

"Not much"

Artemis' words echoed in his head. He sighed and walked out of the kitchen area, heading toward the bathrooms where he remembered his mark glowing. Sure enough, it started to glow at a slow, steady pace. His heartbeat picked up. It was close by. He ran up the stairs he'd seen on his first day here, and saw the strange rune circle on the floor. He smiled slightly, mentally preparing himself. He reached down and pressed his palm to the floor. Soon enough, the noise in his ears dulled and black swirling clouds covered his vision completely.

**Since school is over, I'm sure to update more! Of course, right after I typed that I was enrolled into prep school. Great success! Thanks to all those who've reviewed, and please continue to leave feedback.**


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